The SP says opponents of the new art gallery are comparing the current $84-million price tag with an almost decade-old estimate for expanding and renovating the Mendel. However, the city administration updated the renovation estimate every year during the capital budget process.

In 2007, the Mendel's renovation cost was $18.3 million. In 2008, it was $21.3 million. And in 2009, the price was $24 million. The Mendel was not listed in the 2010 capital budget. Had it been included, the figure would likely have been about $27 million, less than one-third the cost of the new gallery.

Artist David Geary (Mendel move wisdom questionable, SP, May 6) offers many worthwhile arguments that support keeping the Mendel Art Gallery where it is. As Geary says, 60 per cent of the people responding to a StarPhoenix survey in 2008 supported keeping the Mendel at the current site, and also wanted $24 million spent to renovate the gallery.

If the Saskatchewan Art Gallery were to be built between the freeway and Persephone Theatre, the only attraction would be the constant roar of cars.

An Op-Ed in the StarPhoenix by Saskatoon artist David Geary, from May 6, 2011

As one of a growing number of established and emerging local artists who question the validity of the proposed Art Gallery of Saskatchewan (AGS), I wonder about the wisdom of the planned closure of the Mendel at its scenic location.

It would be replaced by the AGS at a much less attractive site, wedged between the freeway bridge and the rear of the Persephone Theatre building. The Mendel's closure and move is clearly unpopular in a large part of our art community as well as within broader Saskatoon. This is evidenced by a StarPhoenix poll at the time of the AGS announcement, which revealed that 60 per cent of residents were opposed to it. Two subsequent radio polls also indicated residents are very much opposed to the move, demonstrating the public's deep attachment to the Mendel.

Visual artist David Geary wants Saskatoon to know local artists were not behind the decision to move the Mendel Art Gallery to River Landing.

"We don't want Saskatonians thinking artists were behind this because the citizens are going to have to pay the enormous bill for the new gallery," Geary said.

Although the decision to move the Mendel to the $67-million Art Gallery of Saskatchewan was made in 2009 by the gallery's board of trustees, a movement to reverse the decision persists in Saskatoon. Concerned citizens continue to sign an online petition that has collected more than 1,800 signatures in two years.

The following Op-Ed by Joe Kuchta appeared recently in the StarPhoenix:

The ground hasn't been broken yet and already the cost of the future Art Gallery of Saskatchewan is escalating. At its Aug. 18 meeting, city council approved spending $510,000 on design
fees for additional floor space and a second level of underground parking estimated to cost $8 million. The $8.51 million would increase the new gallery's price tag to $66.51 million from $58 million. The project is behind schedule. Construction on the underground parking
was to begin next year, but has been pushed back to 2012...

Shouldn't Heritage Minister support Canadian heritage, not help destroy it?

Questions about federal support by Martin Lerner

During the first year of Harper’s Conservative government, John Baird, then federal Treasury Board president, stated that cultural organizations looking for federal funds should first line up private sector backing. More recently, Heritage Minister James Moore said, "Certainly where we want to go as a government is to encourage more private sector donations for arts and culture. . . We've done that with our endowment incentive program where we're matching almost dollar for dollar what the private sector invests." Referring to how many arts organizations rely on governments for 90 per cent of their funding, he stated, "That's dangerous. When times get tough and government budgets get lean, arts and cultural organizations collapse."

The following Op-Ed by C.J. Cote appeared recently in the StarPhoenix:

In a recent viewpoint articles, Bart Gazzola and Leslie and Helen
Coleman commented about the space inadequacies of the present Mendel Art
Gallery to justify the need for a new gallery.

I wonder if these
writers had given any thought to the notion that renovation plans to
alleviate the site inadequacies and provide for future needs of the
current gallery were presented to the city and the Mendel board and
approved?